Inspired Designs
L AMMON ARCHITECTS, LLP
Decades of experience and a “keeping it in the family” set of values, makes this business a force to be reckoned with in upstate New York, especially in religious construction.
CONSTRUCTION LEADERS TODAY T H E M A G A Z I N E F O R C A P TA I N S O F I N D U S T R Y
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INSPIRED DESIGNS Powered by decades of experience across a broad range of project types, the Lammon family has established their firm, Lammon Architects, LLP as a predominant force in the architectural world of upstate New York. by Joel Cornell
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Church of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany, N.Y. Contractor: A.O.W. Associates, Inc. Rendering by Jeff Johnson.
“I
always had a strong affinity towards form and shapes in my young life, thus cumulating in the design of buildings and construction today, but I never thought architecture would turn out to be my profession,” said veteran architect and co-founder of Lammon Architects, Raymond R. Lammon. “What I wanted to do was to be able to connect with people and demonstrate our personal ability to relate, share and dream. It didn’t take long to know that architecture would allow me to do exactly that.” Since Lammon’s earliest years in the architecture and building profession, the Lammon family has left their mark on countless buildings of innumerable types in the Albany, New York area and other surrounding areas of the state. Over the course of years, Lammon’s focus as an architect was predominantly concerned with religious projects, mostly due to the great respect and influence obtained in earlier years of the religious community. “My own personal design tastes tend to fall into design types that are more traditional or classical,” Lammon said. “These aesthetics tend to work very well in
a religious setting. We’re trained and geared to be able to handle many projects in terms of size, scope, intent, program or type. We’ve also maintained a multiple cross section of commercial design: health clinics, hotels, car dealerships, country clubs, rehab projects, non-profits and various scales in the residential building sector. “Nonetheless, throughout decades of my career, architecture to me has always been about one core essential. First, you must understand the essence, the definition of architecture; I’m talking about what it means to design for someone and to interpret their intangible ideas and translating those into a unique physical expression.” Today, the partnership firm of Lammon Architects, LLP located in Troy, N.Y., is a joint venture led by Raymond Lammon himself. The formal inception of the firm was in 1995, with Raymond’s oldest son, R. Scott Lammon. Both principals had been employed in private architectural firms and several different government agencies in the area for several years. Together, the two have over 60 years of combined experience in architectural design and engineering. Both Fall 2011 3
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father and son are active members of the AIA, and they promote those standards of practice within their firm. As the firm’s clientele grew, so did the firm itself; Raymond Lammon’s youngest son Andrew joined the firm in 2005. “We’re a small family partnership with experience that translates confidence to our clients in all of our projects,” the elder Lammon said. “It is our intent to maintain continued progressive design on all levels. Our past employment in the public sector has certainly helped us interact with local and state building officials when it comes to producing code compliant structures. It’s been a great experience forming relationships, working with state governments and interacting with the ‘field’, the public, and individuals." With two principals and an associated support staff, Lammon Architects plan on retaining the small size of their firm that is constantly matched with a portfolio typical of much larger firms. This small partnership is key; it gives the firm the intimacy, communication, shared insight and inspiration they need to succeed. The firm reviews prospective projects and clients before accepting commissions. Even still, if the project can’t be accepted at the time, the firm will always contribute their experience, thoughts and concerns to that client. “We take things very personally here, because I’m constantly driven to satisfy clients in providing for each client the exact product they want each time,” Lammon said. “We just completed a new residential design project, the Reo Residence on five acres of land in Saratoga, N.Y. I’ve known the client for over 40 years, and there’s a great deal of trust between us. It’s been an ideal client/architect relationship. “The owner himself is a local steel fabricator and 4 Construction Leaders Today
is well known in the area. The client collaborated with us on the entire design program. In the end, we were able to translate their program into design schemes desired by the client. “Our practice’s earliest projects were in the residential sector. We’ve done hundreds of residential projects over the years, from small renovations of kitchens or bathrooms to new, large construction projects. Early on in my career, I learned to work on multiple project types. To me, that’s what architecture is: a comprehensive ability to wholly design any kind of structure." Overall, religious affiliated clients and building types have been Lammon Architect’s main focus. The firm just recently completed a renovation and addition to the existing summer church for Sacred Heart Parish located in Lake George, N.Y. Incidentally, this church was designed by the firm with which Lammon started his career. Though that firm has since retired, Lammon Architects has now redesigned the original 1957 church structure for year-round use. The present pastor of the church wanted the project to match the original church in terms of use, aesthetic and design. The original church is a a small, historic chapel. The new renovated church features a field stone finish around traditional Gothic windows. With a cavernous interior, 120 ft. long and 60 ft. wide, the church needed Lammon Architects’ expert insight. This renovated church overlooking Lake George will serve as the new parish church. Additionally, Lammon Architects re-established the traditional elements of the church: new seating, altar, lighting, heating and air conditioning systems. They created two cohesive spaces that ideally serve the needs of this religious community. CLT
THIS SPREAD ACROSS TOP: Catholic Community of Sacred Heart, Lake George, N.Y., of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany, N.Y. Contractor: Bishop Beaudry Construction, Albany, N.Y. The restoration and renovation maintain the dignity of the existing “historic” church on the South side of the courtyard by utilizing thin natural veneer stone by Rolling Rock Building Stone; roof eyebrows and gothic shape windows by Pella, and pre-patined copper to add “age” to church. This renovated space exhibits the interior warmth of the surrounding AdirondackMountains of Lake George, N.Y. by its high vaulted wood ceilings, polished concrete colored floors, and natural lighting. OPPOSITE RIGHT: The new main entry high gable glass area allows natural light to spread within and reflects the exterior surrounds back into the building. All photos courtesy of Denis J. Nally.
SPECIALTY CONCRETE SERVICES
518-424-2258 When Lammon Architects sought the best in specialty concrete services in upstate New York, they found exactly that— even down to the name. Specialty Concrete Services has been working their magic across the northeastern U.S. since 2003. Upon becoming the chosen specialist for the Sacred Heart Church project in Lake George, N.Y., Specialty Concrete Services provided custom polished concrete for the building. The firm applied a unique dye for a design pattern created by Lammon Architects. Additionally, the firm provided restorations services for the concrete in the existing building. Using a hand-troweled concrete overlay in a tile pattern Specialty Concrete Services breathed new life into the building. Based out of Rexford, N.Y., Specialty Concrete Services is proud of their long and successful history of service alongside the highly respected Lammon Architects.
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BISHOP BEAUDRY CONSTRUCTION
518-218-7744 As his father and his father’s father took to the construction industry both at a young age, so too did the founder and CEO of Bishop Beaudry Construction, Jim Bishop. Along with his partner P.J. Beaudry, Bishop has been serving the northeastern U.S. with passion and vision. Bishop Beaudry Construction was founded in 2006 when Bishop and Beaudry left a larger construction company in the area, where Bishop served as executive vice president and part owner. With vast amounts of experience and talent behind them, the partners founded a company that would conduct business they way they saw fit: with consideration, expertise and dedication. Over many years in the industry, Bishop and Beaudry have constructed a combined total of nearly $500 million in projects, mainly across the firm’s home state of New York. “Much of our work takes place before an architect or design team ever comes on board,” Bishop said. “We perform an unusually large amount of consulting work early on, including budgets, constructability reviews, etc. We’ll figure out exactly what needs to be done and how; then we proceed from there.” For Lammon Architects' Sacred Heart Church project, Bishop Beaudry's work from beginning to end was vital. When a lighting package for the church came in far over budget, Bishop himself worked with Ray Lammon and the project owner to find a solution. Bishop Beaudry Construction sought out several lighting consultants, helped develop an acceptable package and presented their solution to the clients. The lighting package came in far under budget. “As we’ve developed as a small company, P.J. and I are intimately involved in every facet of the business, from field crewing, to estimating, to ordering the materials,” Bishop said. “We set up our projects in such a way that at least one of us is the lead on the project. It’s important for our clients to know that there aren’t multiple layers of upper, lower and middle management to go through in order to see a decision made. The sole decision maker for a project is on the site with them or otherwise involved in order to personally address any issue that may arise. “Such has always been the case with our partnerships with Lammon Architects. The Sacred Heart project was truly a great team effort. The building committees, the owners and the architects all made this one of the most pleasureable projects in our career. We had budgeting issues and site challenges on a daily basis. But the vision, talent and experience on our side was nothing short of amazing.” Fall 2011 5